


Days Gone By

by sg_wonderland



Series: Days series [12]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-01
Updated: 2016-10-01
Packaged: 2018-08-18 21:10:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,383
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8176187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sg_wonderland/pseuds/sg_wonderland
Summary: We tend, in the little Daniel world, to assume that Jack would raise Daniel. But what if someone else wanted him, too? This only works if you suppose that “Crystal Skull” never happened.





	

When Jack thought back on it later, it started as an ordinary type of day. A day when he had to do all those little pesky errands he’d been putting off. He had gratefully dropped Daniel off at his folk’s house, which technically was still Daniel’s house, so he could make all the stops he needed to make quicker and more efficiently. He had to admit there was something liberating about not having to drag a six-year-old all over town, getting him in and out of the truck again and again.

Now he was home, putting away groceries and making a serious dent in the accumulated laundry. His mother had offered to keep Daniel home and do laundry for him, but he’d declined. He had saved the world on more than one occasion; he probably could do laundry all by himself. He was just congratulating himself on finding the lone white sock that had been lost last laundry day when the doorbell rang.

Cursing the interruption, he jogged to the door, wondering who it could be. Opening the door, he found an older gentleman with a decided scowl on his face. “Can I help you?”

“Are you Jack O’Neill?” His voice was gruff, heavily accented.

Jack’s danger radar peaked. “Who’s asking?”

“I want Daniel.”

“Excuse me?” Jack stood stunned, taking an automatic step to guard the door, even though Daniel wasn’t at home.

“I want Daniel. I demand that you give him to me.”

“Who the hell are you?”

“I am Nicholas Ballard. I want my great-grandson.”

*

Jack’s first action, after shutting the door in Ballard’s face was to call his parents, making sure Daniel was safe and that no one had approached them. “Darling, Daniel is fine. He and your father walked to the park.” His mother assured him.

“Mom, go get him, right now. I don’t have time to explain but I need Daniel here. Don’t let anyone talk to him, and don’t stop anywhere else, you hear me?”

Caroline was clearly puzzled by Jack’s tone. “I’ll call your father right now, we’ll bring Daniel home. Jack, what’s wrong?”

“I just had a visit from a guy claiming to be Daniel’s great-grandfather. He wants...he wants to take Daniel away from me.”

*

His next call was to the general, who promised to have Ballard investigated. “Jack, don’t worry. There is no way in hell any of us are going to turn Dr. Jackson over to anyone. I promise you that. Try to calm down, you don’t want to scare the boy.”

*

The next day, Jack was served with a court order to present the minor child Daniel Jackson for a DNA test.

*

“Colonel O’Neill, this is Major Osbourne, a lawyer from the Pentagon. He’s been fully briefed on the situation.”

Jack glared across the briefing room table at Paul Davis. “I’d call it a bit more than a situation. This guy is trying to take Daniel away.”

Davis attempted to deflect Jack’s anger. “Sir, you have no doubt that the DNA test will prove positive?”

General Hammond nodded. “Our records show that Dr. Jackson’s mother was Dr. Ballard’s daughter, so we have to assume the DNA will prove that out.”

“So this guy has a legal right to take Daniel?”

“Relax, Colonel, you have documents giving you legal custody of the child.”

“Documents, which, I might add, are forged. If this goes to court, a lot of us are going to have to commit perjury.”

“I promise you, Colonel, this will not get that far. Yes, Dr. Ballard has a blood tie to the child. A child he has never met and until now, never expressed the slightest interest in.” Osbourne spoke up.

“Yeah, about that. How did he find out about Daniel, anyway?”

“His lawyer said that Dr. Ballard only recently became aware of the child’s existence when he tried to reconnect with his grandson.”

“Bit late on that, too, wasn’t he? Bottom line it for me, Major. What are we up against?” Jack wanted to know exactly where they stood, whether he should contemplate spiriting Daniel off the planet.

“You have all the advantages. You’re younger, you obviously care for Daniel, your mother provides a maternal role model for him and probably your best weapon of all is Daniel, himself. He has bonded with you, thinks of you as family. You do realize that Daniel may have to testify?”

“Oh, I don’t think so.”

“I’m sorry, Colonel, but it’s inevitable. The judge is going to want to talk to Daniel. It won’t be like open court testimony, the judge will probably request to meet him somewhere neutral, and ask some questions. I have requested we be placed on the family court judge’s docket as soon as possible, pending the DNA results. It only benefits Daniel if we resolve this sooner rather than later. Have you told him?”

“No, we’re seeing Dr. Bennett this afternoon.” Jack grimaced. “We’re going to tell him together, try to reassure him.”

“I have every faith in Major Osbourne’s ability, Jack.” Hammond nodded. “They’re in for a helluva fight.”

*

“Good afternoon, Daniel, Colonel O’Neill.” Bennett’s receptionist smiled at them. “Would you like to go on in? The doctor will be there in just a minute.”

As hard as he had tried to hide it, Jack knew Daniel had picked up on the tension. Bennett was smiling when he came in. “Hey, good to see you. Daniel, why don’t you have a seat here beside me? Jack and I have something we want to talk to you about.”

“Am I in trouble?” Daniel whispered shakily.

“No, no, you haven’t done anything wrong. It’s just that your grandfather just found out about you and he wants you to go and live with him.”

”I don’t want to go!” Daniel’s panicked eyes found Jack.

“And we don’t want you to go, either. But Dr. Ballard is asking a judge to decide who you should live with.”

“How can someone who doesn’t know me decide where I should live? It’s not fair.” Daniel’s frown was ferocious.

“No, it doesn’t seem fair to you, I know. But you are the only family Dr. Ballard has left. His daughter, Claire, your mother, has been dead a very long time and he’s very lonely.”

“Did I know him? Before?”

“I don’t know, Daniel. When your parents died, he was out of the country and didn’t think that would be a very good life for you.”

“Why?”

“We don’t know why Dr. Ballard did what he did but the judge will ask him some questions. The judge will also ask Jack some questions and will probably want to talk to you. I want you to be prepared for that. We can ask the judge if I can come in with you.”

“And Jack, too?”

“The judge won’t let Jack come in with us, but I think he’ll let me. I don’t want you to be afraid, Daniel. We’re going to do what we think is best for you, that’s all anyone wants.”

“Not Dr. Ballard. He just wants what’s best for him. He doesn’t care about me at all!” The two adults exchanged a look over his head, knowing he had spoken the truth.

*

Dr. Ballard’s lawyer had petitioned the family court judge for permission to visit Daniel. Osbourne had intervened, arguing that since the DNA results weren’t in, Dr. Ballard’s legal rights had yet to be established. The judge agreed, declining to schedule the hearing until the DNA results were in. 

Jack had informed Dr. Whitcliffe; he guessed that Dr. Ballard would try to see Daniel by any means. The headmaster assured Jack that they would continue to keep a very close eye on Daniel and would certainly report anything out of the ordinary.

*

It wasn’t stretching the truth to say that the night before the hearing was strained. Teal’c and Sam had been at Jack’s house most of the day, just spending time with both of them and trying to reassure Jack, and themselves, that they weren’t going to lose Daniel. Caroline and Michael came for dinner and stayed long after Daniel had gone to bed.

“Darling,” Caroline squeezed Jack’s hand as she sat beside him. “There’s not a judge anywhere who would take that child away from you. Anyone can see how happy he is, how much he loves you.”

“I keep telling myself that, Mom, but I’m still scared. What will happen to Daniel if they do give him to Ballard? The son of a bitch never cared for Daniel at all, why now?”

“He’s old and he’s alone. And that’s his own fault, from what I understand. It’s not going to happen, Jack. We won’t let him take Daniel. We’ll fight if we have to.” Michael promised. “Come on, Caro, let’s go, he’s got a long day ahead of him. We’ll be here when you get back from court, Jack.”

*

The hearing was just as nerve-wracking as Jack had anticipated. Dr. Bennett was allowed to stay in a separate room with Daniel after the psychiatrist had testified about Daniel’s progress and state of mind. Jack hated the fact that they had to trot Daniel’s personal misery out for everyone to hear.

Jack knew Ballard scored the first point by portraying himself as a lonely old man, sorry for the mistakes he had made in life and desperate to keep the only living relative he had. He had amassed a small fortune and could afford to keep Daniel in a lavish lifestyle. Major Osbourne gained some ground by questioning the fact that he had declined to take in the newly orphaned Daniel and that his decision had led to the child languishing in foster care for much of his childhood.

Osbourne hadn’t made it to the Pentagon without a certain amount of craftiness. He led Jack through questioning, building the relationship between Jack and his best friend, making sure the judge was aware of how Jack had always been there for Daniel when no one in his family had. That Daniel’s grandfather had never made the slightest attempt to comfort him after the death of his parents. Then he portrayed Jack’s relationship with Daniel’s young son, how Jack and his parents had rearranged their entire lives for the sake of this child. To counteract Ballard’s testimony that he would see that Daniel was educated in the finest of schools, the lawyer touched on the private school and that Jack was fully able to fund the child’s education.

“Colonel O’Neill, is it your habit to keep loaded weapons in your home?”

Although Jack knew the question was coming, he couldn’t help but flinch. He and Osbourne had decided it was best if they brought up the subject of Charlie. “No, I did that once and lost my son, Charlie. That was my fault, no one else’s.”

“Can you tell us what happened to Charlie?”

“I failed to secure my personal gun, in my home and Charlie accidentally shot himself. Charlie died because of my carelessness.” Jack’s voice seemed loud in the suddenly hushed courtroom.

“You learned from your mistake, haven’t you, Colonel?”

“Yes. I would never leave an unsecured gun in my home. Ever. I would never do anything to put Daniel in harm’s way.”

Jack could see that Ballard’s lawyer was furious that they had broached the subject themselves, completely eliminating their planned bombshell. “Colonel O’Neill,” Ballard’s lawyer rose slowly. “Exactly what is it you do for the Air Force?”

“I work in deep space telemetry. Stars, you know.” Jack kept his expression neutral.

“Is your job dangerous?”

“No more than any military posting, I suppose.”

“Colonel, is it true you receive hazardous duty pay?”

Jack hesitated. “I have been entitled to hazardous pay in my Air Force career.”

“And are you presently receiving such pay?”

“Yes,” Jack admitted reluctantly.

“Do you think it’s fair that you subject a child who has only one living relative to the agony of never knowing if you’re coming home at the end of the day?”

“Daniel doesn’t know what I do.”

“So you admit that this is not something he should be subjected to.”

“What I think is that there are lots of things going on in the world that children don’t need to be told about.”

“Have you given even a moment’s thought to what it would do to Daniel if you were killed in action? How that would affect him?”

“Daniel’s been through more bad times than most children his age and he’s done very well. I think losing me would devastate him but I think he could bounce back.”

“So if Dr. Ballard gains custody, he would, as you say, bounce back?”

Jack cursed himself silently. “I don’t think that’s the same thing. My getting killed would be nothing anyone could avoid. He,” Jack gestured toward the older man, “could avoid tearing Daniel from a home where he’s loved and giving him to a stranger.”

“Can you specifically discuss your job duties with the Air Force?”

Osbourne leaped to his feet. “Your Honor, I object. My colleague is well aware of the classified nature of Colonel O’Neill’s job. Neither he nor his job is on trial here.”

“On the contrary, his ability to provide a stable home for this child is on trial. How can he provide this home if he may be killed at any moment?”

“And I could get hit by a bus walking out of the courtroom today. Your Honor, please?”

“Mr. Hannah, this court, and you yourself, were advised that there were certain area of Colonel O’Neill’s service that were classified. I cannot and will not order the witness to break his service oath. Now, do you have any further questions?”

“No, Your Honor, we rest.”

“Thank you all for your contribution. It is easy to see this is a child who has many, many people concerned for him. I will speak with Daniel in my chambers. We stand adjourned.”

*

The judge took off her robe before she asked for Daniel to be brought in.

“Daniel, I’m Judge Julia Tanner. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too.” Daniel replied politely, although he stood quite close to Dr. Bennett.

“Dr. Bennett, thank you for taking time out of what I’m sure is a very busy schedule to be here today.”

“Thank you, Your Honor, I’m glad to be of any help I can.” He took the seat across from the judge.

“Daniel, if you’d like to sit with Dr. Bennett, that’s fine with me. We just want you to be comfortable.”

Bennett lifted Daniel onto the couch, settling him and his rabbit comfortably.

“Now, Daniel, do you know why you’re here?”

He nodded. “Dr. Ballard wants me to go and live with him because of his daughter.”

“And how do you feel about that?”

“Scared. I mean, I don’t know Dr. Ballard at all.”

“Did you know Jack before you came to live with him?”

“No.” Daniel reluctantly admitted.

“Can you tell me about your father?”

“Jack tried and tried but he couldn’t find him, couldn’t bring him home. I think,” Daniel considered his words carefully, trying desperately not to lie, “I think he would come back if he could. I don’t think he would have left unless he didn’t have any choice.”

“Do you think that’s what Dr. Ballard did to your father?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t been born yet.”

She smiled. “Yes, they warned me that you’re very smart, very mature. You go to school? How do you like that?”

“I didn’t like it at first, but its okay now. Sometimes it’s hard, but I like that.”

“You do?”

“I like to learn and if it’s hard to learn, it makes it worth it when you do learn it.”

“Briarwood is a very special school, isn’t it?”

“Yes, ma’am, but I have to go there because I’m too smart to go to regular school. I’m not bragging or anything.” He hastened to assure her innocently.

“You’re very wise, Daniel. If I asked you who you wanted to live with, what would you say?”

“I want to stay with Jack.”

“You understand that Dr. Ballard is your family?”

“No, no, he isn’t.” Daniel shook his head vigorously. “Jack is my family. And Grandma and Grandpa and Sam and Teal’c. They love me. How can Dr. Ballard love me? He doesn’t even know me.”

*

When Jack brought Daniel into the courtroom one excruciatingly long week later to hear the judge’s decision, Dr. Ballard tried to approach them but Major Osbourne blocked the way. The bailiff stepped up to take Daniel out of the room. Jack dropped to one knee in front of him. “Daniel, you know I have to go into the courtroom. You need to go with the bailiff, she’s going to take you to where you can wait for me.”

Daniel clutched him desperately. “Don’t leave me, Jack.”

With gritted teeth, Jack detached those arms from him. “I promise I’ll be back to get you as soon as the judge says I can. Okay?”

He reluctantly left, looking back at Jack until they turned the corner.

*

“I want you all to know that I appreciate your efforts on behalf of Daniel, you should all be commended for that. Colonel O’Neill, what you have sacrificed for this child is immeasurable and you should be as proud of that as anything you may have done in service to your country.” Jack’s heart dropped; he was certain she was trying to let him down easily. “Dr. Ballard, the court is aware that you regret your past mistakes and that you wish to make restitution for those mistakes. You are to be commended for that. However, your restitution should not come at the cost of a child’s happiness. Taking into account the testimony I’ve heard and the wishes of Daniel’s own father, I can find no reason to take this child from a home where he is safe, happy and healthy. I hereby order that Colonel Jack O’Neill retain custody of the minor child, Daniel Jackson. Colonel, if you’ll step this way. Court is adjourned.” 

Jack followed the judge from the courtroom. “Just so you know, Colonel, I’ll be asking Dr. Bennett for regular updates on Daniel’s progress. And here we are.” She opened the door to her chamber.

Daniel launched himself at Jack, his arms in a death grip around his neck.

“Going home, Jack?” Daniel’s voice was muffled.

Jack stood up, hugging Daniel fiercely. “Yes, Daniel, going home.”

*

Jack’s driveway was full when they got home; Jack had called his parents immediately and he could only assume Major Osbourne had called the base and passed on the good news.

“Well, kid, looks like we’ve got company.”

Daniel’s eyes widened at the vehicles. “Wow. There’s Grandpa’s and Sam’s and Dr. Fraiser’s. I didn’t know we were having a party.”

Jack lifted him out of the truck. “I didn’t either, I hope they brought their own food or you and I are going to be two very embarrassed hosts.”

“Grandma will cook.” Daniel declared confidently as Jack opened the door to a quiet roar and a house full of people.

He lost sight of Daniel almost immediately as he was enveloped in the crowd.

“Colonel O’Neill.”

Jack turned in shock to see Dr. Bennett standing by the door. “Dr. Bennett, what a surprise.”

“Just wanted to check on Daniel. And you.”

“My heart might get back to normal rhythm sometime next week. If I’m lucky.”

“I’d say you’re very, very lucky, Colonel.” They spotted Daniel riding high on Teal’c’s shoulders.

“I’d say you’re right.”

“That was a very brave thing you did in court, talking about Charlie.”

“I think Charlie would have liked Daniel. And I know Charlie would have approved of me fighting for him.” Jack thought about the people who had stood by him in this fight. From General Hammond, who vowed to give Dr. Ballard the fight of his life, to Ferretti who offered to sneak Daniel through the gate if the hearing had gone the other way, to his parents who had left their old life behind because of one little boy. “Yes, I am very, very lucky. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to rescue my kid.”


End file.
